Monday in Hawkville (p.m. edition)

WORD OF THE DAY
Recognition. As in, that was the emphasis for the kickoff coverage units in the 45-minute special teams-only session.

Veteran Olindo Mare and rookie Brandon Coutu eventually kicked the ball, but most of the practice was at a walkthrough pace with special teams coach Bruce DeHaven stressing alignment and technique rather than just having players fly down the field.

PLAYER OF THE DAY
Mare. I’ve been dying to ask the 5-foot-11, 180-pound Mare a question: How does he generate the leg strength to consistently drive the ball so deep on his kickoffs?

“One hundred and eight pounds of steel,” Mare said, breaking into a smile.

He then continued, “I always look at it as leg speed. Kind of like why a small golfer can generate so much power and torque. Those are the things I work on, because it’s obvious I’m not that big a guy. It’s just something I’ve always been gifted with.”

Mare has been among the leaders – if not the leader – in touchbacks in each of his 11 full seasons in the league.

“You’ve either got it, or you don’t,” he said. “It’s one of those things. You can teach a guy runs a 4.1 (second 40-yard dash) how to catch, but you can’t teach a guy who runs a 5.0 to run 4.1.

“I’ve been blessed with this ability, and I’ve tried to keep it through the years.”

QUOTE UNQUOTE
“Let’s go wedge, it’s not rocket science.” – DeHaven, to those players comprising the wedge on the show team that was working against the kickoff coverage units